A Little Problem in Paradise

Chau Nguyen

Kathleen Kvinge

English 1101

17 July 2016

A little problem in paradise

Even here in America, one of the richest countries on this planet, hunger still exists; therefore it doesn't matter which part of the world you are in. Children, in 2012, nearly 16 million U.S. children or over one in five lived in households that were food-insecure, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines as "a household-level economic and social condition with limited access to food." Even when we control for the effects of other factors correlated with poverty, these children are more likely than others to face a host of health problems, including but not limited to anemia, lower nutrition intake, cognitive problems, higher level of aggression an anxiety, poorer general health, poorer oral health, and a higher risk of being hospitalized, having asthma, having some birth defects, or experiencing behavioral problems. Moreover, in a review of the effects on children's health and behavior, Janice Ke agues, ”nutritional deficiencies directly undermine students' cognitive capacities.”  Food insecurity has been researched extensively, and this research has helped policy makers and program administrators better address the problem.

 I tried to sign up as a volunteer at the Atlanta Community Food Bank but unable to, because of schedule conflict. Although I missed the opportunity, however, I had participated at a similar community food kitchen for the homeless shelter in Charleston, Sc. The place was called 180 Place. There I helped with everything, from washing dishes to preparing food, from assisting in the kitchen and the cafeteria to passing out trays to the homeless and those who happened to frequent the shelter that day. There I witnessed many sad things. Some children appeared to be normal because their mom or dad handled things well. Hopefully they were there for only a short period of time before finding better homes. Some children looked very pale I wasn't sure if it was malnutrition or if they were abused or neglected. A few of them had that disenfranchised appearance on their faces which they seemed to have been deprived from youth and innocence, because they were dragged into this shelter for food by their drug addicted mom or dad.

I felt sad. Tears streamed down my face as I pretended not to look at the children. Even though I didn't have kids, I would do anything to keep my younger siblings out of places such as these. I wasn't sure how these people ended up here, economic reasons, job losses, health problems or drug additions. But being here seemed sad if not hopeless. I wished they would soon recover from their financial hardships and move out of there.

             Almost one in seven American were food insecure in 2012, experiencing difficulty in providing food for all family members due to lack of resources. Food pantries assist a food-insecure population through emergency food provision and some even assist the homeless to have temporary shelters.

I am not so sure how different it is here in America, but frugality is very important to us, where I come from. Saving money for useable circumstances is always a must. Health problems, job insecurities, natural disasters are always out top priorities to protect our loved ones and ourselves. It's not that I don't see American save but I think the people who depend too much on government assistance usually fail to set aside a certain amount of their incomes for rainy days.

            I chose to volunteer at 180 Place and to also donate because I thought I had a strong and attainable mission and vision. Their mission was to provide food, shelter and hope to end homelessness and hunger one person at a time, one family at a time. Their vision was that for each person who entered their care will gain the skills and resources that needed to move beyond homelessness.

Nearly half of the people who sought help at the shelter lacked high school diplomas. Many more unemployed and didn't have the skills required for long term, stable professions. The recession also put the rest of those who lived off paycheck-by-paycheck that were let go by those companies that needed restructuring.

             At 180 Place, I also witnessed the worst possible. A few children whose parents seemed to have just lost their jobs recently were screaming and complaining that they didn't want to be there. They questioned why these people were so smelly and I could imagine the look on their mom or dad's face, shocked and hopeless but powerless at the moment because they were clueless why it happened to them.

Some of the adults there appeared stranded or lost in sense of direction. I could tell they were on drugs. They were slow and not very responsive when I asked which plate they would like for the day. They just stood there and stared at blank space, incomprehensible. Maybe I was the only Asian girl there. Maybe I was cute. Maybe and just maybe, they thought I could see through them, their shameful present or past. No, I wasn't there to judge. I was there to do what I could with a compassion for humanity, for what I always believed in, to help the fewer unfortunates. And then there were those few who seemed to have sheltered there for a while because they could not reenter the workforce, or no company would hire them because of their attitudes. They would cut through the line right at the moment where better meals were being served. They would return quickly and repeatedly ignoring those other women and children who were waiting in line for a while. A little girl who spoke softly to her mom telling her she was tired of waiting in long line and why those men got to go ahead of them. There was one guy I noticed who would just grab the best piece on the plate, ate quickly and dumped the rest into the trash and returned immediately through the line, regardless of breaking every policy and rule. That got me furious. When he pointed at which plate he wanted and I told him no sir you need to get back in line like everyone else, he got angry. He yelled, " Just give me the plate ". I quickly whispered to the supervisor who pulled him to the side for a long talk. I helped serve through the end of the day but noticed that he never returned. I left feeling great that day.